Chapter 27 Chapter 27 The Cold of Christmas

There was a desperate moment.The thought of death and freezing took on a horrible guise; the last coal was burning with a terrible crackle;Johnson, however, went to find a few pieces of fresh fuel provided by marine animals.Put it in the furnace; he added to it waste hemp soaked in frozen oil, and soon got enough heat that the taste of this fat was almost unbearable; but how could it be removed!We should think of a way.Johnson himself believes his stopgap needs to be improved, which won't have any success among Liverpool's middle-class families. "However," he added, "this particularly bad smell can have good results."

"What result?" asked the carpenter. "It definitely draws the bears to us because they're salivating at the smell." "Well," Bell countered, "what's the use of a bear?" "My friend Bell," replied Johnson, "we can't count on the seals any more; they're gone, and for a long time; and if the bears don't fuel us, I don't know where we'll end up." "You're right, Johnson, our fate is far from certain, and the situation is dire. If it doesn't turn out to be this way of heating... I don't know how..."

"There will be another one!..." "Another one?" Bell asked again. "Yes, Bell! There's really nothing you can do about it... but the captain never... Anyway, probably has to." Old Johnson shook his head mournfully, lost in thought, and Bell would not wake him.He knew that these hard-won fat lumps would not last for eight days, and it was useless to try to save them. The boatswain was right.Many bears, attracted by the stench, were conspicuous downwind of the Forward; healthy men hunted them; but these beasts were endowed with astonishing speed and cunning to see all tricks; approaching them was impossible , even the most seasoned hunter can't shoot them.

The crew faced the ordeal of freezing to death; it was impossible to maintain this temperature in the common room for 48 hours.Everyone watches in horror as the last piece of fuel burns out. The hour of three o'clock in the evening of December 20th came; the fire died out; and the sailors sat round the fire, looking at one another with wide, frightened eyes.Hatteras was motionless in his corner; the doctor paced anxiously up and down as usual; he no longer knew what to think. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped to -22°C. If the doctor has racked his brains, if he doesn't know what to do, someone else has thought of it for him.Shandon, calm and determined, and Penn, with fire in his eyes, came towards Hatteras with two or three companions, and whoever they could pull past.

"Captain!" said Shandon. Hatteras was deep in thought, and didn't hear his cry. "Captain!" repeated Sandon, who touched him with his hand. Hatteras stood up. "Sir," he said. "Captain, we have no more fire." "What's wrong?" Hatteras replied. "If you will let us freeze to death," continued Sandon, with terrible irony, "we beg you to inform us!" "What I mean," Hatteras replied firmly, "is that everyone here has to do their part until the end." "There is something above duty, Captain," replied the latter, "that is the right to preserve the individual. I tell you again, we are out of fire, and if this goes on, none of us will be dead in two days. !"

"I have no wood," Hatteras answered dully. "Okay!" Payne yelled, "When there is no wood, go to the place where the wood grows!" Hatteras paled with anger. "Where to?" he said. "Aboard!" replied the sailor arrogantly. "Aboard!" said the captain too, his fists clenched and his eyes shining. "Yes," replied Penn, "when the ship is no longer fit for crew, burn it!" At the beginning of this sentence, Hatteras had seized an axe; at last, the axe was raised above Penn's head. "Scumbag!" he yelled.

The doctor threw himself in front of Penn and pushed him away; the ax fell to the ground, making a deep gash in the floor.Johnson, Bell, and Simpson stood around Hatteras, seemingly determined to support him.But voices of misery, complaining, and pain came from the places that had become grave-beds. "Fire! Fire!" cried the unfortunate sick, as the chill crept into their quilts. Hatteras checked himself, and after a moment's silence, he said these words in a calm tone: "How can we get back to England if we wreck the ship?" "Sir," said Johnson, "we can probably burn the least useful parts, the sides, the bulwarks..."

"There are always boats," Sandon went on, "and besides, who can prevent us from building a smaller boat out of the remains of an old ship!" "Impossible!" Hatteras replied. "But..." many of the sailors raised their voices. "We still have plenty of alcohol," Hatteras replied, "to the last drop." "Okay, get the alcohol!" Johnson replied, pretending to be confident.And it didn't come from his heart at all. With the help of large wicks dipped in this liquid, pale tongues of fire licking the walls of the furnace raise the temperature of the room by a few degrees.

In the days that accompanied this bleak scene, the wind turned south, the temperature rose, and there were snowflakes in the less severe weather.A few men could leave the ship in less humid weather; but eye disease and scurvy kept most of them on board; besides, neither hunting nor fishing could do. In addition, this was just an intermission in the severe cold. On the 25th, an unexpected wind blew up, and the frozen mercury disappeared into the mercury tank of the thermometer again; people had to use alcohol as a thermometer, and the coldest weather would not make it freeze. Doctors were horrified to see the temperature drop to -52°C.The temperature is almost unbearable for people.

Ice stretched across the floor like long faded mirrors; thick fog filled the room; moisture fell again as snowflakes; people could not see each other; people's heat receded from their extremities; With the iron ring, the mind freezes, shrinks, and freezes, leading to delirium.Horrible symptom: Tongue can no longer speak. Hatteras spent hours wandering the decks from the day the crew threatened to burn the ship.He watched, watched.Wood is his flesh and blood!Just chopping off a piece of wood is equivalent to cutting off one of his legs.He bears his weapon and watches closely, oblivious to the cold and snow that freezes his clothes and threatens him like pincers of granite.Dak understood what he meant and yelped at his feet, accompanying him with howls.

However, on December 25, he came to the common room.Using what little strength he had left, the doctor walked straight to him. "Hatteras," he said to him, "without fire we shall perish!" "No!" said Hatteras, who knew exactly what request he was answering. "We need it," said the doctor again kindly. "No," said Hatteras more emphatically, "I will never consent. Anyone who wants to, will not obey me!" It was some kind of promise of freedom of movement, and Johnson and Bell rushed to the deck.Hatteras wept when he heard the logs of his ship crack under the axe. This day is Christmas, which in the UK is a family holiday, a children's party!How bitter are the memories of happy children around the Christmas tree tied with ribbons!Who wouldn't have thought of the long, roasted slices of fattened beef served on the occasion?The round pies and patties so dear to the British are made especially for this day?But here, it is the most unbearable pain, despair and misfortune, and the Christmas logs are a few logs from a ship lost in the depths of the ice and snow region! But, under the action of the fire, affection and strength returned to the hearts of the sailors; and the temporary comfort of hot tea and coffee, and hope, that which is so tenacious in the human spirit, men had hope again, that Among these changes was sent the year 1860, the year whose early winter shattered Hatteras' valiant plans. But it was precisely January 1, 1861, that stood out because of an unexpected discovery.The weather was less cold; the doctor resumed his usual studies; he read Edward Bilcher's travels in the polar seas.Suddenly, a passage that had not been noticed at the time startled him; he read it again, and there was no way he could be mistaken. "Here," said he, "is the remnant of a civilized dwelling far above what one might think of the crude customs of the wandering Eskimo tribes. Their walls rest firmly in the ground dug deep; The ground was covered with a thick layer of good-textured sand and the ground was paved. Lots of caribou, walrus and seal bones were seen. We encountered coal." After reading the last few words, an idea flashed in the doctor's mind, and he took the book to discuss the matter with Hatteras. "Coal!" cried the latter. "Yes, Hatteras, it's coal, our savior!" "Coal! On this bleak shore!" said Hatteras. "No, that's impossible!" "Why doubt it, Hatteras? Bilcher wouldn't have brought up such a thing if he hadn't been sure, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes." "So, what's next, doctor?" "We're less than 100 nautical miles from the shore where Bilcher saw this coal. What's a 100 nautical mile walk? Insignificant. I've often traveled through snow and cold for longer distances. Let's go, Captain!" "Let's go!" cried Hatteras, determined, his imagination so active, that he saw dimly the hope of rescue. Johnson immediately learned of the decision; he approved of the plan; he told the news to his companions; some with great excitement, others with indifference. "There's coal on the shore!" said Wall, buried in agony in his bed. "Let them go!" Sandon replied treacherously. But before making preparations for departure, Hatteras wanted to determine the Forward's position as accurately as possible again.It is easy to understand the importance of this measurement and why it is necessary to know the position precisely.Once away from the ship, it cannot be found without a definite number. Hatteras came on deck, and he gathered at different times the many distances and meridian heights of the principal stars. Serious difficulties were encountered with these observations; the temperature was so low that Hatteras's breath covered the surfaces of the glass and mirrors of the instrument with a layer of ice; and more than once his eyelids were burned while wearing the brass telescope. But he still got the basic data needed for calculation, and he went back to the house to calculate.After the work was over, he raised his head in astonishment, took the map, pointed with his finger, and stared at the doctor. "What?" asked the latter. "At what latitude do we start wintering?" "The latitude is 78°15' and the longitude is 95°35', just at the extreme of cold." "Okay," Hatteras added in a low voice, "our ice fields have shifted. We've shifted 2° north and 2° west, at least 300 nautical miles from your coal bunker!" "These unfortunates don't know it yet!" cried the doctor. "Shut up!" said Hatteras, putting his hand to his lips.